Sono Motors has announced that it has already reached the 10,000 reservations in all Europe of the Sion, the electric car with solar panels (SEV, for its acronym in English) which still has a year to go into production. The number of people interested in buying the first series of this electric car has doubled since last June, thanks to the testing programs enhanced by the German company.
Around 87% of these orders come from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, but the potential buyers are located in more than 20 countries around the world. The vast majority of these buyers are private customers and to a much lesser extent companies and institutions. This number of reserves represents a total turnover of 250 million dollars.
NEVS will manufacture the electric car with solar panels for Sono Motors
According to Sono Motors, the interest of the Sion is that it addresses the problems and the biggest obstacles that consumers perceive in electric mobility technology: price, autonomy and cargo infrastructure.
In addition, Sono has given special importance to climate protection and conservation of resources as well as the need to reduce the number of vehicles. Since 2017 and worldwide around 79 million new vehicle registrations have been registered per year. With the sharing options included in the standard configuration of the Sion, each of these cars can replace on average 15 conventional vehicles, which contributes significantly to solve this problem.
For Jona Christians, CEO and founder of Sono Motors, this means that 10,000 people have clearly committed to sustainable and climate-friendly mobility. “We believe in a world in which each electric car with solar panels is powered by clean electricity and can be used by more than one user. This is the vision that drives us, “he added.
The Sion will be manufactured in Sweden at the former SAAB factory in Trollhättan, Sweden now owned by NEVS, (National Electric Vehicle Sweden). Production will start in the second half of 2020 and will be carried out exclusively with renewable energies. The duration of the contract signed by both companies is eight years and the total production capacity will be 260,000 electric vehicles. At full capacity, it will be able to manufacture 43,000 units a year, if the expected production curve is met.
Sono Motors Sion reaches 10,000 previous reservations
The Sono is a family-size electric car with solar panels with a range of 250 kilometers. The Sion, with a design of the proportions of a family car, has space for five passengers and a trunk of 650 liters. Its electric motor of 120 kW (161 HP) offers a torque of 290 Nm, achieving a maximum speed of 140 km/h. Its battery has a capacity of 35 kWh and its autonomy is 250 kilometers according to the WLTP cycle. It has a fast charging system that allows you to recover the entire autonomy in 30 minutes.
Among its distinguishing features, the solar panels that cover its bodywork and that achieve 34 kilometers more autonomy include the possibility of sharing the energy stored in the battery and the solutions implemented to convert it into a shared vehicle.
Through collective investment, the company continues to offer the possibility of participating in Sono Motors and therefore, also in its growth. Traditional market research has been replaced by feedback from the community, which is then taken into account in the development of the vehicle. In addition, community votes give potential buyers the opportunity to decide on the design and characteristics of the vehicle, including color, wheels, loading options and the number of seats available in the electric car with solar panels. The test programs carried out in Europe have allowed those interested to experiment closely with the first Sion prototypes and to get to know Sono Motors first-hand.
